The Polish Utility Model Application No. 105284 teaches a separator device used for purifying sowable seed and similar materials from impurities of a size different than the seed size. According to the solution, the separator is provided with a movable web comprising a plurality of apertures and a plate with apertures positioned slant thereto. Under the plate, a suction device is mounted, this device being used for removal of fine impurities adhered to the plate. The separator has also separate ducts for receiving materials of various grain size.
The Polish Patent specification No. 195759 B1 shows a structure of a device for conveying filter rods for tobacco industry, that device being provided with a chamber for capturing particles of charcoal which enter it forced by a centrifugal force generated as a result of a change of direction of flow of filter rods being transported. The carbon particles accumulated in the escapement chamber are discharged from the device by means of a suitable lock.
During recovering tobacco from filtered cigarettes, constituting waste from manufacturing line, according to the known solution, a strong contamination of the tobacco with activated carbon occurs. This is caused by penetration of powdered carbon particles from cigarette filters into the final product, i.e. the recovered shredded tobacco. In the known solution, contamination of the shredded tobacco is as high as 100-200 carbon particles per 10 g of recovered shredded tobacco.
In order to recover shredded tobacco from cigarettes, a special machine is used in which the cigarette paper is perforated, and then it is torn along the perforation during being transported on vibrating conveyors and in an assembly for releasing tobacco. In the machine, the defective cigarettes are fed by a feeder onto a vibrating conveyor and transported towards a perforation assembly. The assembly has disc cutters and a grooved drum, where the suitable shape of the cutter teeth and adjustment of cutting depth ensure that only the cigarette paper is incised, without slitting of the filter. Cigarettes with so incised paper are transported along a vibrating conveyor provided with grids, where pre-sifting of the tobacco takes place. Due to a still considerable amount of tobacco remaining within the slit paper, the cigarettes are directed further on to an opening assembly where final tearing of the slit and perforated cigarette paper is effected. Directly downstream the assembly, tobacco, tobacco dust, paper and particles of diverse size, thrown out with a high speed, form a layer of turbulent flow of shredded tobacco, paper and impurities, said layer is next deposited under gravity on vibrating conveyors. As a result of specially selected mesh size in the screen surfaces of the vibrating conveyors, the paper, tobacco and carbon particles are separated in respective zones of the conveyor.